An in-house editorial calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm the right of gays and lesbians to marry was published to the newspaper’s website on Friday night. The editorial did not appear in Saturday’s print edition — where it may have been supplanted by a piece on the Connecticut school shootings — so we’ll see if it shows up Sunday. Here’s an excerpt:

We urge the Supreme Court to affirm the right of gay couples to marry based upon the fundamental American ideal of equality before the law. It is critical that the court also make clear that such a ruling won’t require churches whose doctrines oppose same-sex marriage to perform such ceremonies.

Debating the reversal of centuries of views about the institution of marriage cannot be considered without upheaval, and we recognize that the notion of gays and lesbians marrying can divide families, friends and, especially, generations. But the growing support for same-sex marriage, including within families whose gay members have changed the way these unions are seen, makes the embrace of gay marriage less of a radical shift.